High speed bobbin window



H. BAKER Er AL 3,498,567

HIGH SPEED BOBBIN WINDER March 3, 1 970 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 20, 1968 I iii;

Drive 48 Electro Magnetic Tronsmlssion Duplex CCW Clutch s Herbert Baker, lg. v DCIVICI S. Rofhje,

INVENTORS.

GOLOVE 8x KLEINBERG, ATTORNEYS United States Patent Offi-ce 3,498,567 Patented Mar. 3, 1970 3,498,567 HIGH SPEED BOBBIN WINDOW Herbert Baker, 25134 /z Malibu Road, Malibu, Calif. 90265, and David S. Rathje, 10820 Molony Road, Culver City, Calif. 90230 Filed May 20, 1968, Ser. No. 730,395 Int. Cl. B65h 57/28 US. Cl. 242158.4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Apparatus is provided which controls the direction of wrap in a high-speed bobbin winder by the proximity of or contact with the rim or flange of a bobbin, reversing the direction of wrap at the end of a layer. In a preferred embodiment, a sensing arm is carried on an overcenter trip mechanism which is pretripped into a lagging configuration so that contact with the rim actuates a reversing switch. During winding in the opposite direction, the arm initially in a leading configuration, is switched to the lagging configuration and actuates a reversing switch when the opposite rim is encountered.

The present invention relates to winding and reeling devices and, more particularly, to a high-speed, precision spool or bobbin winder for loading a supply spool or bobbin at high speeds with relatively fine wire or other filamentary material made of organic or inorganic material, as thread, cord or rope.

In the prior art, many devices are provided for winding filaments or strands of various types and of various sizes. Conventional wire-spooling machines are equipped with traversing means for winding the Wire evenly on the spool. A usual traversing means includes a carriage which travels back and forth along the length of the spool to guide the strand in its approach. Mechanical or electrical means are provided so that as the traversing carriage approaches preset, limit positions, the direction of traverse can be reversed. One typical device has been described and shown in US. Patent No. 2,988,292, issued on June 13, 1961, to G. L. Bliss.

Other devices, rather than using a lead screw for the traversing mechanism, have utilized a level wind shaft, such as is shown in US. Patent No. 2,919,868, issued J an. 5, 1960 to D. C. Frate. Still another traverse mechanism for winding includes a drive roll with a skew mounted thereon, as described and shown in the US. Patent No. 2,539,667, issued Jan. 30, 1951 to K. A. King.

It is noted, that these prior art devices are primarily intended for winding rope or wire and it may be assumed that in any case, typical prior art devices are used with wire or other filaments of relatively large gauge.

With the advent of precision, high speed utilization devices, in which tension, wrap angle and turn-to-turn spacing must be closely controlled, such as, for example, precision potentiometer winding machines in which extremely fine gauge wire must be freely drawn from a supply spool at high speeds without abrupt changes in tension, attention has been directed to the filling of the supply spool, itself.

As noted in the above mentioned patents, it is important to prevent either overfill or underfill at the end of each layer of filament. Further, the coils should be tight and uniform to prevent filaments from an overlying layer to enter an underlying layer to impede subsequent unwinding. Any winding irregularity tends to be cumulative and accordingly, a poorly-wound supply reel can produce severe problems in the filament utilization device.

According to the present invention, there is provided apparatus which can be made to have an effective sensor width of zero. A detector is positioned to sense the edges of the bobbin being wound and can, with virtually any desired degree of accuracy, reverse the direction of wind to maintain a uniform, repeatable pitch with uniform layering. In a preferred embodiment using a contacting element in conjunction with a pair of reversing switches, reversal of the traverse has been accomplished with less than .003" of travel by the sensor and carriage. Frequently, this represents less than a full tun on the bobbin. In alternative embodiments, radiant, fluidics or reactive impedance devices can be used as non-contacting, proximity sensors which detect the edge or flange of the bobbin.

The novel features which are believed to be characteristics of the invention, both as to organization and method of operation, together with further objects and advantages thereof will be better understood from the following description considered in connection with the accompanying drawings in which several preferred embodiments of the invention are illustrated by way of example. It is to be expressly understood, however, that the drawings are for the purpose of the illustration and description only and are not intended as a definition of the limits of the invention.

FIG. 1 is an idealized view, partially in perspective and partially in block diagram, of a bobbin winder according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a top view of a preferred embodiment of a bobbin winder using an adjustable sensing arm on a travelling carriage;

FIG. 3 is a side view of the apparatus of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a partially sectioned view of an alternative sensing arm, utilizing a photocell and light source;

FIG. 5 is a partially broken-away view of an alternative sensing arm utilizing fluidics; and

FIG. 6 is a partially broken-away view of yet another alternative sensing arm utilizing a reactive element in a tuned circuit.

Turning first to FIG. 1, there is a functional block diagram, partially in block, partially in plan which illustrates a preferred embodiment of a bobbin winder according to the present invention. A lever arm 10 is provided at one end with a sensing head 12 that is adapted to detect the flange of a bobbin to be wound. At the opposite end of the lever arm 10, a pair of switches 14, 1 6 are provided which, when actuated, cause a reversal in direction of the relative axial motion as between the bobbin and a feed device 18. The lever arm '10 and the feed device 18 are mounted on a carriage 36 that moves in the axial direction, parallel to the axis of rotation of the bobbin on a triggered shaft 40. In a preferred embodiment, as shown, a bobbin 20 upon which is to be Wound a filament 21 is rotatably mounted on a driving assembly and, in this embodiment, is relatively fixed with respect to movement in the axial direction. The sensor and lever combination pivot on a line with the point of wrap' 22 of the filament 21 to be wound. The center of the sensing head 12 is also aligned with the point of wrap.

In this embodiment, an over-center spring 24, or other flip-flop mechanical arrangement is provided, to lightly bias the sensing head 12 away from the flange 26 approaching bobbin 20 and the opposite end of the lever 10 into contact with, in this example, the switch 14 which causes the direction of the movement of the carriage to reverse.

As the sensing head 12 reaches the flange 26, in this embodiment, contact with the flange 26 pushes the sensing head 12 about its pivot and trips the switch 14, reversing the direction of carriage motion. The switch placement relative to the lever arm 10 travel is adjusted so that reversal occurs when the point of wrap 22 reaches the flange 26. .As the direction reverses and the carriage moves in the opposite direction, a mechanical assembly (not shown) engages the lever 10 to flip it in the opposite direction, so that it is lightly biased against the other switch contact 16.

When the carriage reaches the other flange 28 of the bobbin 20, the sensing head 12 engages the other flange 28 and trips the second switch 16, again reversing the direction of the traveling carriage. As indicated in FIG. 1, a drive source 44 applies rotational force both to the bobbin 20 and to a transmission 46 which applies a source of clockwise motion 48 and counter-clockwise motion 50 to an electromagnetic duplex clutch arrangement 52. The clutch 52 selectively applies clockwise or counter-clockwise rotation to the threaded shaft 40 to drive the carriage 36. The switches 14 and 16 apply appropriate signals to the clutch 52 for alternatively applying the clockwise or counter-clockwise drive to the threaded shaft 40.

Turning next to FIGS. 2 and 3, there is shown an alternative design of the apparatus of FIG. 1. Similar parts will be identified by similar reference numerals with a prime designation added thereto. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the sensing arm 10 is provided with a hinge 30' that enables an adjustment of the sensing head 12 with respect to the point of contact with the bobbin flanges 26', 28'.

The sensing arm 10 also has a right angle bend at the pivot point to provide an L-shape. The extended portion 32 is positioned between the Opposed limit switches 14' and 1 6. As in the other embodiments, the placement of the switches 14, 16, with respect to the extended portion 32, is adjustable so that a preset amount of travel will trip a switch.

The filament feed device 18 is illustrated here in somewhat greater detail and, as shown, includes a first arm 34 which is fixedly mounted to a carriage 36', and a second arm 38 which is slotted so that it can be both rotated about the arm 34 and extended in and out with respect to the bobbin 20'.

As noted in FIG. 3, the traveling carriage 36' is supported by a first shaft 39 and is driven by a second, threaded shaft 40 which rides in an appropriate threaded sleeve 42.

In FIGS. 4, and 6, there are shown alternative embodiments of a lever arm with different types of sensing heads. In the embodiment of FIG. 4, a pair of photoelectric sensors 112, 112' is used in combination with a light source 114. The light source 114 can be centrally mounted with respect to the sensing end of the lever arm 110, and a cylindrical orifice 116 is provided in the axial direction so that a reasonably collimated beam of light 118 will be radiated in the axial direction.

Positioned adjacent to the light source 114 on opposite faces of the head are photocells 112, 112, whose displacernents, relative to the source 114, is a function of the proximity to a flange 26 that must be achieved before a signal is provided. As the arm approaches a flange 26, the beam of light 118 emanating from the source 114 is reflected from the flange 26' and will illuminate the photocell 112. As the distance between the flange 26' and light source 114 decreases, however, less and less of the light is reflected to the photocell 112 until a point is reached where insuflicient light is reflected from the surface of the flange 26 to illuminate the photocell 112 and substantially all of the light is reflected back into the collimating orifice 116.

Electrical circuits (not shown) are provided that recognize the transition from light to dark and, upon the recognition of this transition, a reversing signal can be supplied to the traveling carriage. To avoid ambiguity problems, the electrical circuits can be arranged so that a complete operating sequence of a long interval of dark followed by an interval of light followed by dark is recognized.

Electrical interlock circuits can be included so that only the photocell that is approaching a flange is active. The lever arm 110 and bistable operation thereof can be as in the preferred embodiment, with provision made for pre-switching of the lever arm at some intermediate point prior to the approaching of a flange.

In another alternative, embodiment, illustrated in FIG. 5, a fluidics-type sensing mechanism is utilized in which a fluidics orifice 212 is provided at the end of the lever arm 210. As the orifice 212 approaches a flange 26', the fluid pressure in the fluidics line, as detected by a pressure sensor 216 varies with the proximity of the flange. By monitoring the back-pressure in the line 214, the flange can be detected and appropriate signals provided. As shown, a fluidics switch 218, controlled by the reversing mechanism, activates only that fluidics orifice 212 which is approaching a flange.

For a third, alternative embodiment of the invention, one type of an electromagnetic reactive proximity detector is shown, in FIG. 6, and is an inductive detector, intended for use with metal bobbins 20". A tuned circuit 312 is provided, utilizing, as a variable inductor open inductance loop 314 at the sensing end of the arm 310. When a flange 26" of the metal bobbin 20" is in proximity to the arm 310, the inductance of the loop 314 changes from inductance in air to the inductance through the metal flange 26" and the circuit 312 becomes detuned.

Circuits sensitive to the change in tuning can be utilized to operate the reversing mechanism at a predetermined magnitude of dc-tuning. Alternatively, at a predetermined displacement of the flange relative to the loop 314, the value of inductance thus introduced into the circuit can result in optimum tuning. Reversal occurs at the tuning optimum, rather than the de-tuning of the circuit.

Similarly, a variable capacitive element might be utilized, the capacitive reactance of which varies with the proximity of a spool flange to the sensing head. Accordingly, an oscillator circuit can be controlled to produce the appropriate signals, representing the predetermined proximity of the flange to the sensing head.

We claim:

1. In a filament winding apparatus including means for supporting a bobbin to be wound, a dispensing head for applying filamentary material to be wound on the bobbin, and means for imparting relative motion in the axial direction as between the bobbin and the dispensing head, means for effecting a reversal of the relative motion in the axial direction, comprising:

(a) a sensing arm movable in the axial direction to first and second rest positions, said sensing arm having a sensing head adapted to be positioned adjacent the bobbin and between the flanges thereof, in a plane that intercepts the flanges;

(b) first and second switching means, each adapted to be actuated by a predetermined magnitude of proximity of said sensing head to a different, relatively approaching, flange;

(c) reversing means coupled to said first and second switching means and adapted to control the direction of relative motion in response to the actuation of said switching means; and

(d) pre-setting means coupled to the means for supporting a bobbin, for engaging said sensing arm during relative motion to place said sensing arm in the rest position remote from the relatively approaching bobbin flange, said sensing arm being in a one of said first and second rest positions in proximity to one of the bobbin flanges and in the other of said first and second rest positions in proximity to the other of the bobbin flanges, said sensing arm being shifted from one to the other rest position by said presetting means while intermediate the flanges so that the rest position is reached prior to cooperative proximity of an approaching bobbin flange,

whereby reversal of relative motion is effected when the dispensing head and the point of wrap of the filament resulting therefrom, is at predetermined locations relative to the bobbin flanges.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1, above, wherein said sensing head comprises an element adapted to contact the bobbin flanges, said switching means being operable in response to contact between said sensing head and a bobbin flange.

3. Apparatus as in claim 1, above, wherein said sensing head includes a light source and a photocell, adjacent said light source, shielded from direct light radiating therefrom; said photocell providing a first signal in response to received light reflected from a flange and a second signal in the absence of received light, whereby a flange closer to said source than a predetermined proximity, reflects substantially all of the radiated light to said light source and substantially none of the radiated light to said photocell, thereby providing a first signal followed by a second signal, said signal combination actuating the appropriate one of said switching means.

4. Apparatus according to claim 1, above, wherein said sensing head includes a fluidics proximity sensor coupled to said switching means and adapted to actuate an appropriate one of said switching means when the distance beactance element connected to said control circuit, the

magnitude of said reactance being a function of the distance separating said sensing head and a relatively approaching flange, whereby the predetermined proximity of a flange to said sensing head results in the magnitude of reactance required to produce the predetermined tuning of said control circuit.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,539,667 1/1951 King 242-1584 2,933,265 4/1960 Lorenz 242l58 2,988,292 6/1961 Bliss 242158.4 X 3,391,880 7/1968 White et al 242l58.4

NATHAN L. MINTZ, Primary Examiner 

